Label	Element	Value
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
ProspectusDate	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2012
Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account (Prospectus Summary) | Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return, Heading	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Strategic Asset Management ("SAM") Flexible Income Portfolio
Investment Objective, Heading	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective:
investment Objective, Primary	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The Portfolio seeks to provide a high level of total return (consisting of reinvestment of income with some capital appreciation).
Expense, Heading	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses of the Account
Expense, Narrative	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Account. These fees and expenses do not reflect the fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract that may invest in the Account and would be higher if they did.
Operating Expenses, Caption	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Account Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover, Heading	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	As a fund of funds, the Account does not pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of underlying funds (or "turns over" its portfolio). An underlying fund does pay transaction costs when it buys and sells portfolio securities, and a higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual account operating expenses or in the examples, affect the performance of the underlying fund and the Account. During its most recent fiscal year, the Account's portfolio turnover rate was 20.6% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	20.60%
Expense Example, Heading	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example, Narrative	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Account with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Account for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Account's operating expenses remain the same. If separate account expenses and contract level expenses were included, expenses would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Investment Strategy, Heading	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Investment Strategy, Narrative	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	The SAM Portfolios operate as funds of funds and invest principally in Institutional Class shares of Principal Funds, Inc. and Class 1 shares of Principal Variable Contracts Funds Inc. equity funds, fixed-income funds and specialty funds ("Underlying Funds"); the Sub-Advisor generally categorizes the Underlying Fund based on the investment profile of the Underlying Fund. Each SAM Portfolio typically allocates its assets among Underlying Funds, and within predetermined percentage ranges, as determined by the Sub-Advisor in accordance with its outlook for the economy, the financial markets and the relative market valuations of the Underlying Funds. The Portfolio: · Generally invests between 55% and 95% of its assets in fixed-income funds, and    less than 40% in any one fixed-income fund (fixed-income funds that generally      invest in fixed income instruments such as mortgage-backed securities,             government and government-sponsored securities, corporate bonds and preferred      securities)                                                                     · Generally invests between 5% and 45% of its assets in equity funds, and less       than 30% in any one equity fund (equity funds that generally invest in US and      international (including emerging markets) equity securities) and               · Generally invests less than 20% of its assets in specialty funds, and less than    20% in any one specialty fund (specialty funds that generally offer unique         combinations of traditional equity securities and fixed-income securities or       that use alternative investment strategies that aim to offer enhanced              diversification beyond traditional equity securities and fixed-income              securities)                                                                        The Portfolio may temporarily exceed these percentage ranges for short periods, and the Sub-Advisor may alter the percentage ranges when it deems appropriate.
Risk, Heading	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Risks
Risk, Narrative	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	The broad diversification of the Portfolio is designed to cushion severe losses in any one investment sector and moderate overall price volatility. However, the Portfolio is subject to the particular risks of the Underlying Funds in which it invests, and its share prices and performance will fluctuate with the shares prices and performance of the Underlying Funds. The Portfolio operates as a fund of funds and thus bears both its own expenses and, indirectly, its proportionate share of the expenses of the underlying funds in which it invests. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. If you sell your shares when their value is less than the price you paid, you will lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Portfolio that are inherent in the fund of funds, in alphabetical order, are: Asset Allocation Risk. A fund's selection and weighting of asset classes may cause it to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective.    Conflict of Interest Risk. The Advisor and its affiliates earn different fees from different underlying funds and may have an incentive to allocate more fund-of-fund assets to underlying funds from which they receive higher fees. Investment Company Securities Risk. Fund shareholders bear indirectly their proportionate share of the expenses of other investment companies in which the fund invests.    The principal risks of investing in the Portfolio that are inherent in the underlying funds, in alphabetical order, are:    Currency Risk.  Risks of investing in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies include changes in foreign exchange rates and foreign exchange restrictions.    Emerging Market Risk. Investments in emerging market countries may have more risk than those in developed market countries because the emerging markets are less developed and more illiquid. Emerging market countries can also be subject to increased social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties and can be extremely volatile.    Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities (common, convertible preferred stocks and other securities whose values are tied to the price of stocks, such as rights, warrants and convertible debt securities) could decline in value if the issuer's financial condition declines or in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund's principal market segment(s), such as large cap, mid cap or small cap stocks, or growth or value stocks, may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole. Investments in smaller companies and mid-size companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies.    Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate risk and credit quality risk. The market value of fixed-income securities generally declines when interest rates rise, and an issuer of fixed-income securities could default on its payment obligations.    Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).    Growth Stock Risk. If growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of the stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can lessen price declines in market downturns.    High Yield Securities Risk. High yield fixed-income securities (commonly referred to as "junk bonds") are subject to greater credit quality risk than higher rated fixed-income securities and should be considered speculative.    Investment Company Securities Risk. Fund shareholders bear indirectly their proportionate share of the expenses of other investment companies in which the fund invests.    Portfolio Duration Risk. Portfolio duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed-income security and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer a fund's average portfolio duration, the more sensitive the fund will be to changes in interest rates.    Preferred Securities Risk. Preferred securities are junior subordinated securities in a company's capital structure and therefore can be subject to greater credit and liquidation risk. An issuer of preferred securities could redeem the security prior to the stated maturity date and reduce the return of the security.    Prepayment Risk. Unscheduled prepayments on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities may have to be reinvested at lower rates. A reduction in prepayments may increase the effective maturities of these securities, exposing them to the risk of decline in market value over time (extension risk).    Risk of Being an Underlying Fund. An underlying fund of a fund of funds may experience relatively large redemptions or investments as the fund of funds periodically reallocates or rebalances its assets. These transactions may cause the underlying fund to sell portfolio securities to meet such redemptions, or to invest cash from such investments, at times it would not otherwise do so, and may as a result increase transaction costs and adversely affect underlying fund performance.    U.S. Government Securities Risk. Yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than yields from many other fixed-income securities. U.S. Government Sponsored Securities Risk. Securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored or -chartered enterprises such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the Federal Home Loan Banks are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury.    Value Stock Risk. The market may not recognize the intrinsic value of value stocks for a long time, or they may be appropriately priced at the time of purchase.
Risk, Lose Money	rr_RiskLoseMoney	If you sell your shares when their value is less than the price you paid, you will lose money.
Risk, Not Insured Depository Institution	rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution	An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table, Heading	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance, Narrative	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Account by showing changes in the Account's performance from year to year and by showing how the Account's average annual returns for 1, 5, and 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Account) compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Account will perform in the future. Performance figures for the Accounts do not include any separate account expenses, cost of insurance, or other contract-level expenses; total returns for the Accounts would be lower if such expenses were included. Performance reflects the performance of the predecessor fund. The predecessor fund's performance in 1999 benefited from the agreement of Edge and its affiliates to limit the fund's expenses. Performance of the Class 2 shares for periods prior to inception of the class reflects performance of the Class 1 shares, which have the same investments as Class 2 shares, but has been adjusted downward to reflect the higher expenses of Class 2 shares.    The S&P 500 Index is used to show performance of the large cap U.S. equity market. Performance of a blended index shows how the Account's performance compares to an index with similar investment objectives, and performance of the components of the blended index are also shown. The weightings for Capital Benchmark 25/75 are 25% S&P 500 Index and 75% Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index.
Performance, Information Illustrates Variability of Returns	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Account by showing changes in the Account's performance from year to year and by showing how the Account's average annual returns for 1, 5, and 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Account) compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
Performance, Additional Market Index	rr_PerformanceAdditionalMarketIndex	The S&P 500 Index is used to show performance of the large cap U.S. equity market. Performance of a blended index shows how the Account's performance compares to an index with similar investment objectives, and performance of the components of the blended index are also shown. The weightings for Capital Benchmark 25/75 are 25% S&P 500 Index and 75% Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index.
Performance, Past Does Not Indicate Future	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Account will perform in the future.
Bar Chart, Heading	rr_BarChartHeading	Calendar Year Total Returns (%) as of 12/31 each year (Class 1 Shares)
Bar Chart, Closing	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar                             chart above:                                                       Q2 '09      10.44 % Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar                              chart above:                                                       Q4 '08      -6.95 %
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes	rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes	reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes
Average Annual Returns, Caption	rr_AverageAnnualReturnCaption	Average Annual Total Returns (%) For the periods ended December 31, 2011
Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account (Prospectus Summary) | Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account | S&P 500 Index
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Average Annual Returns, Label	rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel	S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.11%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(0.25%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	2.92%
Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account (Prospectus Summary) | Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account | Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Average Annual Returns, Label	rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel	Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	7.84%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	6.50%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.78%
Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account (Prospectus Summary) | Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account | Capital Benchmark (25/75)
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Average Annual Returns, Label	rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel	Capital Benchmark (25/75) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	6.64%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	5.13%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.33%
Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account (Prospectus Summary) | Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account | Class 1
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.23%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.01%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets	0.59%
Total Annual Account Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.83%
Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	85
Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	265
Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	460
Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,025
Annual Return 2002	rr_AnnualReturn2002	2.14%
Annual Return 2003	rr_AnnualReturn2003	13.30%
Annual Return 2004	rr_AnnualReturn2004	6.47%
Annual Return 2005	rr_AnnualReturn2005	3.41%
Annual Return 2006	rr_AnnualReturn2006	6.84%
Annual Return 2007	rr_AnnualReturn2007	6.09%
Annual Return 2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(13.76%)
Annual Return 2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	19.95%
Annual Return 2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	10.51%
Annual Return 2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	3.39%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	Highest return for a quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	10.44%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	Lowest return for a quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(6.95%)
Average Annual Returns, Label	rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel	SAM Flexible Income Portfolio - Class 1
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	3.39%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	4.63%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.49%
Average Annual Returns, Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Sep. 09, 1997
Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account (Prospectus Summary) | Strategic Asset Management Flexible Income Portfolio Account | Class 2
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.23%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.01%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets	0.59%
Total Annual Account Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.08%
Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	110
Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	343
Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	595
Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,317
Average Annual Returns, Label	rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel	SAM Flexible Income Portfolio - Class 2
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	3.13%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	4.36%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.23%
Average Annual Returns, Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Nov. 06, 2001